Victoria Santamarina joined the Duke family in 2013 to pursue a Master’s in Liberal Studies and a certificate in International Development (Class of 2014) at DCID. Once here, she developed her passions for economic development, public policy, and social impact at the Sanford School of Public Policy.
Santamarina now works as the Managing Director at Gender Equality in Tech (GET) Miami, an organization that aims to accelerate the representation and leadership of women, trans, and non-binary people in tech. There, she will work with the local community within Miami’s dynamic tech ecosystem to design tailored interventions around GET’s three key pillars of academia, industry, and entrepreneurship.
Santamarina credits the Duke and DCID family for helping her through the process of growing beyond social norms she grew up with in Argentina and to find different opportunities for herself. “The faculty encouraged me to find my way in new cities like Seattle, WA, or Miami, FL. New doors and opportunities flourished after I graduated, and I always had the support of my dearest professors and staff, such as Fernando Fernholz, Stephanie Alt Lamm, and Phyllis Pomerantz.”
In addressing current DCID Fellows, Santamarina encourages them to take advantage of the community present on campus. “The most important thing is to join the DCID community. Those friendships will last forever. At Duke, I found innovative people looking to make a difference and fight for social justice worldwide. But most importantly, I found friends to rely on during tough times.”
